


Bleeding Out

by PhoenixRising



Series: Dancing Memories [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M, Memory Loss, Missing Persons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-24
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2017-12-30 09:42:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1017089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixRising/pseuds/PhoenixRising
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After 2 years of for his missing friends, Vincent is reunited with Yuffie, but there are still questions to be answered, and an old enemy is determined to have his final revenge. Yuffentine, some Zerith and Cloti.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> This is the companion/sequel to "Eyes Open," but it does not pick up where that left off, the two stories are going to overlap (you'll understand when you start to read).
> 
> Due to college work and my search for a job, the updates for this story are going to be sporadic at best, although I am going to try to finish it as quickly as I can.
> 
> The song inspiration for this story is "Bleeding Out" by Imagine Dragons.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**_I’m bleeding out_ **

**_So if the last thing that I do_ **

**_Is bring you down_ **

**_I’ll bleed out for you_ **

 

_Vincent glided through the ruined streets of Midgar in the middle of the night. The sound of clashing weapons echoed through the city, causing him to change course. As he exited the alleyway that he had used for a shortcut, he heard the unmistakable snarling of a behemoth and readied Cerberus._

_The monster had cornered someone and was about to pounce. Two quick shots brought it crashing down, and the person that it was about to attack stood shakily. Vincent bit back a gasp as the figure began to turn towards him._

_“Heh, thanks for that Le-”_

_“Yuffie,” in an instant he was standing directly behind her, and when she turned, he stared in awe at her storm gray eyes, which he had begun to suspect he would never see again. Before he could say anything else, she faded into the night._

 

Vincent bolted upright with a gasp, clawing at the bedsheets and breathing heavily. A nightmare, that was all it was, he told himself as he stood and walked to the window of his small apartment. Outside, the neon signs of Edge illuminated the city in an eerie glow. 

Leaning against the window frame, Vincent forced himself to breathe slowly through his nose, and tried to let go of the last image from his dream. The idea of Yuffie being lost to him forever was not one that he wanted to dwell on at the moment. It had already been two years, two long years, of searching for her. Cloud and Tifa as well, but Yuffie was the one that he was most concerned about. He wanted the chance to set things right with his little ninja, and apologize for … well, for everything. Of course, he doubted that that would go over very well with her. She frequently scolded him for dwelling on past mistakes, but he felt that this time it was absolutely necessary.

He sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head against the glass. _Yuffie, where are you?_

The entire planet had been searched, multiple times, by all of their friends. Reeve had assigned an entire section of the WRO to Vincent’s command specifically for this task. Vincent appreciated the help, but he often ended up traveling alone. He wasn’t used to working with such a large group of people, and he also didn’t want word getting back to Reeve about his continuing downward spiral. The commissioner had enough to worry about without adding Vincent’s problems to his list, and he would, because that was just how Reeve was.

Everyone had stopped worrying about Vincent after Yuffie had moved into the Shinra Manor with him. They noticed an improvement in the gunman’s demeanor; he was no longer “Mr. Doom and Gloom,” as Yuffie once called him. He smiled more often, became more sociable. They watched in amazement as Yuffie’s bright influence led him out of his dark past, and he seemed ready to live in the present again.

Then she disappeared, along with Cloud and Tifa, and Vincent could feel himself slipping back into his old ways. The only difference was that the memories he reflected on were no longer of Lucrecia, but of a certain ninja princess. The more time passed, the more he felt the desire to give in to despair and crawl back into his coffin. But that was no longer an option. Yuffie had made sure of that.

Vincent pulled a chair over to the window and sank down into it, letting his eyes drift closed again as he remembered the day, just a few weeks after Yuffie had first moved in, when…

 

_“Okay, Vinnie, we need to talk,” Yuffie skipped down the newly repaired stairs, pausing briefly on the step that she had fallen through on her first day at the Manor._

_“What about, Yuffie?” he asked in his usual monotone. He wasn’t eager to hear what she had to say, since that was the same statement that she used when she announced that the room she had selected for her own was too small, so they had to knock out the wall and connect it with the next room, which Vincent was using as a library. Needless to say, he vetoed that idea immediately._

_“The basement, we have to do something about it!” she stopped in front of him, hands on her hips and a defiant look in her eye._

_“Why must we do something about the basement?” he asked, fighting back the urge to roll his eyes._

_“Because! It’s full of monsters! And let’s face it, there’s lots of bad memories down there for everyone. We don’t need it for anything, so we should just board it up. That way, we don’t have to worry about it anymore!” She gave him a triumphant grin. “And it’s not like you need to use your coffin anymore. I’m never gonna let you get back in that stinky old thing ever again. Ooh! I know! We should burn it!” Vincent just stared at her as she prattled on without stopping. “It’ll be all ceremonial, like you letting go of your past! It’s such a great idea, I know,” she clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. “I’ll go get some matches!” She dashed off, and Vincent was left staring after her, not sure what he should do._

_When she reappeared, he blocked her from going up the stairs. “Yuffie.”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“You are not burning my coffin.”_

_“Oh, really?”_

_“Yes. And you are also not sealing the basement.”_

_“Mmhmm.”_

_“Give me the matches.” He held out his hand and waited._

_“Okay, sure. Whatever you say, Vince.” He started feeling very uneasily as she said this, but held his ground. “So when do you wanna start tearing down that wall in my room?”_

_“??” He stared at her, wide-eyed, and tried to figure out why she had switched topics so suddenly._

_“Cuz, I mean, we have to start another project soon if we’re gonna fix this place up, and it’s my turn to pick what we do, since we’re roomies and all. So, the way I see it, I’ve given you two options. If you don’t like this one, we can always do the other. It’s really up to you. What do you want to keep more? The library, or your coffin?” She gave him an impish grin and handed him the box of matches as she stepped around him._

_Vincent could feel his eye begin to twitch, and mentally cursed manipulative ninjas, before turning to find her leaning against the bannister._

_“Well?”_

_He stared for a few more moments, then slowly dropped the matches into her open hand._

_“Good choice!” she chirped, then spun on her heel and trotted up the stairs. “C’mon, Vince, we’ve got work to do!”_

 

_As he watched the flames lick over the coffin’s sleek black surface, Vincent had to admit that it did feel vaguely satisfying to watch it burn. Although, he would rather take a bullet to the head than admit that to Yuffie._

 

Vincent opened his eyes and blinked a few times. It was still dark outside, so he moved back to the bed and tried to go back to sleep, knowing that the attempt was useless. He had not slept through an entire night since Yuffie went missing.

In the morning, he planned to make his way through Junon and then continue to the Ancient Temple. He briefly considered stopping by the WRO headquarters first, but dismissed the idea. If there had been any news Reeve would have contacted him, so it would just be a waste of time. And besides, it had been several months since the WRO commissioner had last seen him, which made it even more likely that he would notice the change in Vincent.

Turning on his side, Vincent stared at the wall and wondered which would come first, a clue about Yuffie’s whereabouts or the final break in his sanity.


	2. Chapter 2

**_So I bare my skin_ **

**_And I count my sins_ **

**_And I close my eyes_ **

**_And I take it in_ **

**_I’m bleeding out_ **

**_I’m bleeding out for you, for you._ **

 

The woods surrounding the Temple of the Ancients were eerily silent. It seemed as if the entire forest was holding its breath, waiting. The atmosphere was putting Vincent on edge even more than usual, and he gritted his teeth as he attempted to calm himself. 

His friends had always teased him about how little emotion he showed, which was partially a result of his Turk training. He had learned to always have control of his emotions and never show any feelings unintentionally. However, the past two years had taken their toll, and he no longer possessed the same iron grip that he used to when it came to his feelings. Yuffie would laugh if she knew how much her absence was affecting him.

Vincent shook his head in an attempt to push away the distracting thoughts of Yuffie. He had left Edge hours before the sun rose, unable to sleep after the dream had woken him. Something about it had felt strange, different from any other dream from the past two years. Vincent didn’t know what to think of it, but he did know that the renewed hope it had brought to him was enough to keep him going, if only for a little while longer. The sun was dipping below the horizon now, and he sighed at the thought of trying to sleep.

He took a moment to study the sky and decided that he would make his way toward Mideel. It had been a few months since he last searched that area, and even though Reeve had posted a handful of WRO operatives in the town, Vincent still felt the need to check it personally. There were a handful of small settlements to the south of his current location, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to find someone with a boat who would be willing to take him across the small expanse of sea that kept him from going the entire way on foot.

Barely half an hour later, Vincent’s phone rang while he was haggling with an old fisherman over an acceptable price for a trip to a little bay just north of Mideel. Vincent excused himself and walked off a few paces before answering.

“Valentine.”

“Vincent!” Reeve sounded more cheerful than he had for a long time, and Vincent perked up. “I have some news that might be useful. Mind you, I won’t know for certain until a team goes to search the area, but there have been reports of a disturbance near the Forgotten City. Cid is willing to pick you up in the _Shera_ and take you there if you’d like.” Vincent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Don’t get your hopes up, Valentine, it’s probably nothing._ “What do you say?”

“Tell Cid that I’m in one of the fishing villages just south of the Temple of the Ancients,” Vincent replied, keeping his tone decidedly neutral.

“All right, I’ll call him now. You shouldn’t be waiting long, he was dropping supplies to the WRO operatives in Gongaga, so be ready.”

“Understood.” The call cut out and Vincent let his head fall back as he stared up at the darkening sky. The Forgotten City … nothing good ever came of going there. First Aerith’s death, then the Remnants used it as a base during the Geostigma incident. What would happen this time? 

As he settled into a comfortable position at the edge of the village, he thought back to the last time he had been in the Forgotten City, when he rescued Cloud.

 

_The sound of gunshots and clashing swords could be heard some distance away, and Vincent quickened his pace as he wondered what sort of situation he would find on the other side of the glowing white trees. Just as he’d thought, Cloud was fighting with the three Remnants, and didn’t seem to be doing well. His movements suggested that he was slightly disoriented, not enough for most people to notice, but Vincent knew his friend’s fighting style. Cloud leapt toward the lead Remnant, Kadaj, and Vincent almost reconsidered his assessment that Cloud was off his game. Then Cloud hesitated just enough to give Kadaj an opening and the silver-haired man jumped at the chance._

_Vincent filed Cloud’s odd behavior away for later and joined in the fray, knocking Cloud and Kadaj apart and hauling Cloud away before he suffered any serious damage. This was a fight for another day._

_When they were well out of range of the city, they stopped along the stream to talk._

_“See? I knew I’d be no help,” Cloud muttered, a note of despair in his voice. Vincent studied him from behind the high collar of his cloak and realized what was causing the change in Cloud’s behavior. “Vincent, what do you know about this?”_

_Vincent stood leaning against a tree, trying to organize his thoughts and decide how much he should tell Cloud. “I come here often,” he admitted, straightening with a swish of his cloak. “I’ve seen what Kadaj’s group is doing,” he crouched beside Cloud and grabbed his left arm, causing Cloud to gasp, “the Stigma.” Cloud grimaced and looked away. “It’s a symptom of alien matter infesting the body. The body tries to eliminate it and overcompensates.” He released Cloud and stood again, pacing slowly along the water’s edge. “Inside our bodies is a current like the lifestream. That current is what fights off any malevolent intruders.” He looked back over his shoulder at Cloud, waiting for the younger man to comment._

_Cloud ducked his head. “What do you mean by intruders?”_

_“The Sephiroth-gene. Jenova’s memetic legacy. Call it what you want.”_

_Cloud sat silently for another moment, processing. Vincent knew that the information wouldn’t be easy for him to hear. “You’re well informed,” he finally said, staring off into the distance._

_“Tseng and Elena. They were brought here half dead. They must have been brutally tortured. I did what I could to save them, but ... well, we’ll see.” Vincent thought back to the sight of the two Turks, Tseng unconscious and Elena nearly so, both with blood-soaked clothes and more than just physical injuries. Whoever had taught Kadaj how to torture someone had known how to break mind as well as body._

_“Tortured?”_

_“They had it coming,” he said, giving Cloud a sharp look. “They got their hands on Jenova’s head.”_

_“Then when Kadaj says he’s looking for ‘mother,’” Cloud said, understanding beginning to dawn._

_“Heaven’s dark harbinger, the calamity, Jenova.” Vincent let the words hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “If they wanted to, they could recreate Sephiroth.”_

_“Kadaj … what is he?”_

_Vincent had an idea, but all the same, “I’d rather not know.”_

_A rustling in the trees made them both jump to attention. Marlene came barreling out of the underbrush and straight to Cloud, reminding Vincent in a very roundabout way of Yuffie. He wondered what the young ninja was doing, and hoped that the Stigma hadn’t claimed her as one of its victims. The planet would be a much darker place without the self proclaimed Single White Rose of Wutai. Vincent blinked and wondered why he had thought such things._

_“May I?” Marlene’s hesitant question jarred him back into the present. It took him a moment to realize what she was asking. He held his cape out to the side showing her that her request was pointless. “You don’t have a phone?!” Her shocked gasp was yet another reminder of Yuffie and he wondered again why the ninja had jumped so easily to the front of his mind._

_When Cloud asked him to look after Marlene, he felt a tendril of panic rising in his chest. “I can’t do that,” he said, shaking his head to emphasize the point. He forced himself to ignore the young girl and her argument with Cloud, until she ran to him and hid behind his cloak. He was surprised, to say the least, but she didn’t stay there long._

_As she and Cloud walked away hand in hand, Vincent thought about Cloud’s last question._

Are sins ever forgiven? _There was a question, if ever there was one. He had spent years in his coffin as punishment for his sins. And now he spent his time in atonement for them. But he had never considered seeking forgiveness. If anyone deserved such forgiveness, and the peace that it would surely bring, it was Cloud. Someone like Vincent, on the other hand … best not to think about it._

_Later, though, standing inside the church in the slums as they watched Cloud help the children with the Stigma into the healing water, Vincent let himself consider what it would be like. It wasn’t hard to see that Cloud had found some form of peace. Vincent felt envious of his friend and immediately guilty as a result. Yet another sin to add to the list, begrudging someone of their new found peace. Would it ever end?_

_The party celebrating the end of this latest crisis lasted well into the wee hours of the morning, the members of AVALANCHE crashing one by one in various places throughout Seventh Heaven. Vincent slunk out into the city when no one was watching, determined not to be pulled in to the next world crisis. He was tired of being hailed as a hero when he was no better than the villains they worked to defeat. A nice, long rest, that’s what he needed, he told himself, full of reflection on his past sins and what he could have done to make them right. The coffin was sounding better and better by the minute, and he set out for Nibelheim._

 

Aboard the _Shera_ , WRO operatives and crew members scrambled around frantically in their duties. As Vincent made his way through the narrow corridors they were all very careful to look away from him. While this would normally have made him a bit self conscious, Vincent ignored them and swept onto the bridge just as Cid finished screaming at the men standing at the back of the room.

“Ah, there ya are, Vince,” the pilot still sounded irritated. “You’d think at least one of these boys’d know how to make a decent pot of tea,” the last word was punctuated by a glare that sent them scurrying off, presumably to the airship’s kitchens. “So, how’ve ya been, Vince?” Cid turned back to Vincent, his unlit cigarette dangling haphazardly from the corner of his mouth. “Shera’s been asking about you.”

Vincent considered several replies before saying, “I’ve been better.” Cid snorted and gave him a look. “I have also been much worse, so there is no need for concern.” Cid was quiet for a moment, and Vincent turned to look out of the large windows at the front of the bridge, eager to change the subject. “What do you know about this disturbance?”

“Not much,” Cid shook his head, “Reeve said someone heard fighting, but they didn’t stay to find out who it was, just got the hell out of there and reported it once they were far enough away. Who knows what kinda shit we’ll be flying into.”

Vincent ‘hmm’ed in acknowledgement. He could feel Cid’s eyes on him, knew the other man was taking note of the subtle changes, results of not properly caring for himself over the past two years. “How long until we reach the City?”

Cid shrugged, “Coupla hours. Maybe just after midnight, it’s hard ta say. Radar shows a storm forming in the area, that might slow us down if it’s bad.” One of the crewmen who had run off earlier returned, carrying a tea tray. “It’s about goddamn time!”  He reached for one of the cups. “I don’t suppose you wanna hang around up here with all these numskulls,” Cid gestured to the crew, and Vincent ducked his head to hide his amused smirk at the sight of the gruff pilot waving his hand around while holding a china teacup. “I’ll call ya back up here once we’re closer. In the meantime, you can use one of the cabins, catch up on some sleep,” Cid gave the gunman a stern look, “you look like you could use some rest. So get yer ass down there and sleep. Captain’s orders.”

Vincent inclined his head and walked down the stairs just in time to avoid the spray as Cid spit out a mouthful of tea. The teacup went flying across the bridge with a crash, and the last thing Vincent heard as the _Shera_ ’s door closed behind him was the pilot screaming again.

“WHAT THE %@#& IS THAT??? ARE YOU TRYING TO POISON ME??!”

 

The dim lights in his cabin were easily ignored, and Vincent lay staring up at the ceiling as he tried to relax. He could hear rain bouncing off of the airship and the occasional boom of thunder. His thoughts were drawn to another thunder storm, nearly three years ago, when he had been in the Shinra Manor. He had been worried about Yuffie on that night, too.

 

_Lightning crashed outside of the Shinra Manor, and for a brief moment the room was illuminated with a blinding white light. Vincent sat up with a gasp, reaching for Cerberus as he searched the room for any possible threats. After the incident with Deepground and Omega, he’d moved back to the Manor with the intention of fixing it up and staying there indefinitely._

_When he had informed the others of his decision they had responded with varying degrees of acceptance. Cloud had simply nodded while Tifa asked if he was sure that he didn’t want to stay with them at Seventh Heaven. Reeve had wished him well and asked if he might still help the WRO on occasion, to which he replied that he wasn’t sure. Barret and Cid had each let out a string of curses before telling him to take care of himself. Shelke had simply said goodbye in her mechanical voice. And Yuffie hadn’t said anything at all._

_He had intended to leave immediately, but instead spent the rest of the day trying to corner the young ninja to ask her what was wrong. She always had something to say, and her silence bothered him more than he liked to admit. He finally caught her after the others went to bed, sneaking through a second story window._

_“Yuffie,” he murmured as he came toward her. “Where have you been?”_

_She stared up at him for a moment, so many emotions flashing through her eyes before she turned away. “What do you care? Go back to your coffin in that stinky old mansion, Vincent. It’s what you were planning to do, no matter what you told the others.” She turned and glared at him. “You know, you’re not being fair to us. You need to stop living in the past. You have friends, here and now, who care about you. Do you really think it was easy for us, while you were gone? We spent weeks looking for you, worrying that you might have died, and there you were, safe and sound and spending some quality time with Miss Popsicle Chick.” Vincent was surprised at how detached she sounded. It was not a good sign. “But that doesn’t matter to you. So go. Go ‘atone for your sins.’” Then she slammed the door to her room in his face._

_He stood outside of her room for some time before turning away and leaving._

_Now he sat watching the rain pound against the window and he wondered what she was doing right now. The thundering gray clouds matched the shade of her eyes when she had yelled at him, and he sighed. Her words that night had hurt him more than he would have expected._

_If only there was some way that he could make her understand. He wasn’t here to dwell on the past, at least not in the way that she thought. This place represented everything that he hated about himself. The gloomy, depressing attitude, the twisted and broken form, right down to the monsters lurking in the shadows. There was the slightest hope in the back of his mind that, while he fixed the Manor, he would find a way to fix himself._

_Vincent set Cerberus back down on the nightstand and stood, walking across the room in search of his phone. He considered sending a text directly to Yuffie, but changed his mind, not wanting to encourage her to resume her previous barrage of texts and calls. Tifa would get the wrong idea from his request, but perhaps Cloud would understand. He knew that Vincent had a soft spot for the ninja, despite his insistence that she was an unwelcome annoyance at times. Yes, Cloud would do what he asked._

_He hesitated again over the wording. It was more difficult than it ought to be, but he finally settled on ‘Cloud, I imagine you are tired of the trouble that certain persons tend to cause. Perhaps you might suggest to them that they check up on other friends? Company would not be unwelcome here.’_

_He ran a hand through his tangled hair and looked out the window again. It was unlikely that he would get anymore sleep this night, so he settled into a chair and watched the rain fall._

 

“Vincent! Get yer ass up to the bridge! You need to see this!” Cid’s voice blared over the ship’s intercom, jolting Vincent out of his thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

**_When the day has come_ **

**_That I’ve lost my way around_ **

**_And the seasons stop and hide beneath the ground_ **

 

The brilliant white trees that surrounded the Forgotten City swayed slightly in the breeze. Everything looked like it should, the shell-like structure in the middle of the lake stood reaching up to the sky, glowing despite how dark the night was. The only noises came from the _Shera_ ’s engines as they hovered above the area.

Vincent turned to Cid and raised one eyebrow. _There’s nothing here that looks out of place_ , he thought.

Cid stood stiffly at the helm and stared straight ahead without speaking. The fact that Cid had remained silent since Vincent reached the bridge made the gunman wonder exactly what the pilot had seen. Vincent moved closer to the large windows that lined the room just as the airship turned. The new view revealed something that immediately put Vincent on high alert.

A section of the forest looked like it had been leveled by a small explosion. A circular area, about an acre in diameter, sloped down into a shallow crater. The trees that stood along the edge of the crater looked charred around their bases, and several of them had deep gashes farther up their trunks. Blackened branches and piles of what looked like ash covered the ground and appeared to have been disturbed in some places.

The _Shera_ dipped closer to the ground, but it was impossible to determine anything else without setting foot on the ground. Vincent looked over his shoulder at Cid and found the pilot watching him. He didn’t bother stating the obvious. _We need to go down there._

Cid left one of the crewmen at the helm and led the way belowdecks. Vincent followed closely on his heels, calling for a squadron of WRO operatives to accompany them.

Once they were on the ground, they found that the level of destruction was worse than it appeared from the air. Vincent knelt along the edge of the crater and ran a gloved hand along the ground, disturbing the light gray ash and revealing darker soil beneath. “We should be able to see any tracks,” he called to the others. “Keep your eyes open.”

“It looks like goddamn bomb went off,” Cid muttered, nudging a branch away with his spear. A few of the WRO soldiers looked around uneasily, like they expected another explosion to occur.

Vincent ignored them all and moved down the slope with narrowed eyes, giving silent thanks to whoever might be listening that it hadn’t rained here. The ash in the center of the crater had been turned over multiple times, making it difficult to pick out individual tracks, but as he looked at the ground closer to the edges it became easier.

_Two sets of prints. Both male, judging by shoe size. Blood here, one of them was wounded._ Vincent found himself on the opposite side of the crater, and looked up to examine a slash mark in one of the tree trunks. _A sword fight, then._ He looked back at the center of the crater and scowled when he saw one of the WRO soldiers trudging straight through without a care for what evidence he might be compromising.

“Sir!” he saluted Vincent. “We’ve had a call from the Commissioner. There’s been an incident in Wutai. Reports are of an unknown object crashing somewhere in the forests south of the capital city. The Commissioner wants us to provide assistance as soon as we’re finished here.”

Vincent gave him a withering glare. “Understood.” The boy turned and trotted back the way he’d come, completely oblivious to Vincent’s irritation.

“Hey, Vince! What d’ya make of this?” Cid waved him over to a spot about halfway down the crater’s slope. “Looks like somethin’ swept away the ash right here,” Cid used his spear to emphasize the edge of the arc, “and this looks like-”

“Feathers.” Vincent brushed aside some of the ash at the edge of the arc and pulled out a long black feather. 

The two men shared a glance before Cid turned and bellowed, “EVERYONE BACK ON THE SHIP! NOW!!”

 

“Are you sure?”

“There’s not enough evidence for me to be certain,” Vincent stood with his arms crossed before the monitors in the _Shera_ ’s communications room as he told Reeve what they had found outside of the Forgotten City.

Reeve sighed and shook his head. “All right, leave as many of the WRO there as you can spare. There may be a simple explanation for this,” the look on his face showed how little he believed that statement. “In the meantime, I want you and Cid to take the _Shera_ and check out the situation in Wutai. I have operatives in the area, but I want your opinion.” Vincent nodded and the transmission cut out.

After a brief trip to the bridge to inform Cid of their new destination, Vincent returned to his room. There was nothing for him to do during the journey but keep out of the crew’s way, so he reluctantly decided to get what sleep he could. Memories would continue to haunt him whether or not he was awake now that there was nothing to keep him busy. His thoughts drifted toward the memory that Cid had interrupted when they reached the Forgotten City. Just a few weeks after he had sent the text to Cloud, when…

 

_Vincent made his way carefully down the old stairs in the Shinra Manor. They had been making more noise lately and the way one of the boards seemed to bow beneath his weight concerned him. He was planning to get more supplies for the room that he was making a library, but he decided that fixing the stairs was more of a priority._

_He’d only taken a few steps off of the stairs when the front door flew open with a bang. Before he could process what was happening, a large pile of bags materialized in the main hall alongside one widely grinning ninja._

_“Yuffie.” Nothing in his tone gave away the fact that he was happy to see her. After their last encounter he wasn’t sure what she would do, but he was relieved to see her smiling._

_“Heya, Vince! I decided I’d come crash with you for a few days,” Yuffie sounded like her usual self, and Vincent wondered if it really had been her idea to come or if Cloud had encouraged her after receiving Vincent’s text, “you don’t mind right? Of course you don’t, I make an awesome house guest!” Vincent nearly rolled his eyes at how she refused to give him time to answer. “Sheesh, you really need to fix this place up, it’s a mess. I know! Once I’m all unpacked we’ll go shopping! Then I’ll help you get this place back in shape!”_

_Vincent stood watching her, wishing he could see what was going on inside her head. She continued talking and spinning around the room as she looked at everything, barely glancing at Vincent at all._

_“So how about it? Are you in?” she grinned at him with her hands on her hips and he knew that he would give her whatever she wanted. He could never refuse her when she was like this, much to his dismay, so he just nodded his head. “Great! I’ll just take my stuff upstairs! I’ll be right back!” She grabbed a bag and dashed up the stairs before he could stop her._

_When she reached that one step that always made him uneasy, she crashed through it to the floor. Vincent was across the room in the blink of an eye, standing over the ninja and searching for signs of injury when she looked up at him and coughed a few times to clear her lungs of the dust that now filled the air. Now that he was sure she was all right, he couldn’t help but smile at her predicament._

_“Perhaps we should start by repairing the stairs?”_

_“Are you laughing at me?” Yuffie narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms as she glared at him. “You are! That’s so rude, Vinnie! What if I’d been hurt?! Would you still be laughing then?!!”_

_“No,” he held out his hand to help her up, glad that she wasn’t aware of the brief flash of panic he’d felt when she fell. She glared at him for a bit longer before she grinned again and allowed him to pull her to her feet._

_“Alright, let’s go. Those stairs aren’t gonna fix themselves.” Yuffie ran ahead of him to the door and spun to face him again. “Ya know, I hate admitting this, but I’ve kinda missed you, Vince.” She shrugged and trotted off, leaving Vincent staring after her for a moment. “Even though you’ve been acting really stupid lately.”_

_He considered the consequences of arguing that point and decided against it._

 

Vincent’s eyes fluttered open and he sat up slowly. A glance at the clock showed that he had been asleep for almost an hour. He stared at the clock for a few more seconds, realizing that this had been the first time since this whole ordeal started that he’d been able to get even a little bit of sleep that was actually restful. He didn’t allow himself to dwell on it, choosing instead to wander around the _Shera_ in an attempt to work off the nervous energy that he suddenly felt.

He was passing the communications room when a young crew member burst out of the door and nearly ran into him. Vincent dodged out of the way and was about to continue on his way when the crewman grabbed him by the arm.

“Mr. Valentine! I was just coming to find you! The Commissioner wants to talk to you.”

Vincent sighed and followed the man into the room, wondering what Reeve had found. Whatever it was, it was unlikely to be good news, and Vincent really didn’t want to deal with-

“Vincent!” Reeve was smiling far too brightly for someone with bad news. “I’ve just received a call from my men in Wutai. They found Tifa.” Reeve continued to talk, but Vincent was no longer listening. _Tifa. Tifa, not Yuffie._ He felt guilty for being disappointed and turned his attention back to Reeve. “-keeps saying that we need to look for Cloud. She’s already taken a transport and is on her way here to Edge, so I’ll see what else she has to say when she arrives.” Reeve paused, studying Vincent for a moment before he continued, “I asked her about Yuffie.” Vincent stood frozen, not daring to breathe. “She said that she thinks Yuffie was with her, but Tifa seems to be suffering from some mild memory loss. She isn’t sure where Yuffie is, or if she’s hurt. I’ll let you know what else she says after I talk to her again.”

Vincent nodded stiffly and turned on his heel, sweeping out of the communications room and down the hallway. He stubbornly refused to allow himself to dwell on any possibilities. If Yuffie was is Wutai, she would be found.

 

When they reached Wutai, Cid decided to stay with the _Shera_ and patrol the area from the air. There was too much ground and too few people to do a proper ground search, so whenever they found something that looked promising, they would leave a WRO team and continue on, circling back to pick up teams every so often.

Vincent wasn’t overly confident in many of the WRO when it came to tracking, but he stayed aboard the _Shera_ , staring out the large windows on the bridge at the sprawling forests. As he studied the landscape below, he realized that if Yuffie wanted to hide, no one would be able to find her, not here in Wutai. A burst of static interrupted his thoughts.

One of the crew held a radio to his ear, listening as one of the WRO teams made a report. “Captain! The team we left by the ruins found someone!” Vincent’s ears perked up and he turned away from the window. “It’s a man, but not Mr. Strife.” Vincent frowned and moved back to the window. “They say he was calling for Ms. Kisaragi when they found him.” 

Vincent was across the bridge in an instant, standing at Cid’s shoulder. Before the stoic gunman could say anything Cid gave him a look and adjusted the _Shera_ ’s course. “Tell them we’re on our way. We’ll drop a few more teams and then stay in the area.” Cid pointed at Vincent, then at the door leading off the bridge. “Go on, you’ll be the first one off.” Vincent didn’t bother responding as he dashed off the bridge, leaving Cid looking worriedly after him. “Make sure someone gives him a radio,” he said as several of the crew followed Vincent.

The _Shera_ left three WRO teams with Vincent near the ruins of what looked like an old military compound, before flying north to collect the team that they had left to examine an odd break in the trees. Vincent directed the teams to fan out and walk south, telling them to use the radios to contact him if they found anything - anything at all - that looked suspicious.

Vincent entered the ruins, knowing that Yuffie wouldn’t be able to resist searching through them if she was in the area. He spent nearly half an hour wandering through the crumbling structure and was rewarded with a few scattered tracks, but not enough to determine where anyone could have gone. With a grudging sigh he left the ruins behind and started walking south, not making a sound as he moved between the trees.

His radio crackled to life a few minutes later, and he recognized the voice of one of the more competent members of the WRO. “Sir! It looks like someone was here not that long ago.” Cid responded, offering Vincent directions to the team’s location and telling them to spread out and search their immediate area.

Vincent picked up his pace, still moving easily through the overgrown forest, the little bit of hope that had been pestering him for the past two days springing to the front of his mind again, and for once, he didn’t dismiss it right away. He caught sight of the WRO soldiers between the trees and wondered if this would finally be the end of his two year long search.

A loud shriek, accompanied by a very familiar figure falling out of a tree and almost on top of one of the WRO was all the answer he needed.

 

**_When the sky turns gray_ **

**_And everything is screaming_ **

**_I will reach inside_ **

**_Just to find my heart is beating_ **


	4. Chapter 4

**_Oh, you tell me to hold on_ **

**_Oh, you tell me to hold on_ **

**_But innocence is gone_ **

**_And what was right is wrong_ **

 

The hospital in Edge was not somewhere that Vincent cared to be. Whitewashed walls, blinding lights, and a smell of disinfectant was more than unpleasant, it brought up memories that were better left buried. But this was where Yuffie was, and Vincent refused to stray far from her side. There was a fear (an irrational one, he knew), that if he were to let her out of his sight she would disappear again and no amount of searching would bring her back to him. That thought was enough to keep him in the chair in the corner of her room, keeping silent guard over the ninja and dozing lightly when his eyes refused to stay open.

Reeve stopped by once a day to check on Yuffie and give Vincent updates on what the WRO operatives were finding. Two days after Yuffie had been found, Reeve stood at Yuffie’s side as he talked to Vincent. “I still can’t believe that after two years without a single trace we have them back, and we still have no idea where they were,” Reeve shook his head, staring at Yuffie laying motionless on the bed. “And that they have some form of amnesia, according to Zack. He’s the one we found near Yuffie,” Reeve added, knowing that Vincent hadn’t taken the time to talk to the other man. He turned to Vincent, studying his friend through worried eyes. “You should get some rest, Vincent,” Reeve interrupted his protest, “sleeping in that chair is not rest, and you know it. We could use your help-” Vincent’s glare shocked Reeve, and he considered his next words carefully. “Yuffie and Tifa have been found, that only leaves Cloud.”

“Tifa has gone to look for him.” Vincent said shortly, daring the commissioner to suggest he leave Yuffie’s side.

“Yes, I know. I sent some of the WRO soldiers with her, in case she needs help. I’m not sure how much she remembers, since she won’t take the time to answer any of my questions.”

“She will be fine.” Vincent shifted in his chair, turning so that he faced Yuffie more directly. “Tifa is not the one that I am worried about.” Vincent tried to keep his voice steady, but Reeve picked up on his anxiety.

“Yes, well, this isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to Yuffie.” Reeve walked around the bed and put a hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “Just give it some time, Vincent.  She’ll pull through.” With that, Reeve left, pulling the door closed behind him.

Vincent closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the chair. His last memory of Yuffie from before her disappearance came to mind, and he reluctantly let it play out.

 

_It had been only four days since Yuffie had left the Manor, trotting down the path with a grimace on her face at the thought of two weeks in Wutai with her father. Vincent had watched her go, smirking at the show she put on about having to leave. He had his own plans for the two weeks, and once he was sure that she was gone, he grabbed the traveling gear that he had left in one of the front rooms and locked the Manor door._

_In two days he would be in Cosmo Canyon, were he would spend some time visiting Nanaki. From there, he would take a few days to travel to Edge, spend a day with Tifa and the children, and pick up some of the polish that Yuffie favored for use on Conformer. His next destination, Costa del Sol, would then be only a boat ride away, and he could buy a box of the saltwater taffy that Yuffie had mentioned a few weeks before. He would be back in Nibelheim a few days before Yuffie returned, and he could surprise her with the gifts. Her reaction would help him to decide what his next step would be, and if all went according to plan, he would tell her … he would finally admit … that he … Vincent cursed his inability to express his feelings for the ninja princess. If he didn’t get this just right he knew that she would laugh at him, and that was the last thing that he needed._

_Everything went smoothly, none of his friends questioned his sudden visit, and he was on his way back to Nibelheim exactly on schedule. As he walked up to the Manor, he allowed himself a small smile, imagining how Yuffie would be bouncing up the path in a few days time, all bright smiles and clumsiness. He had not expected to miss her this much over such a short period of time._

_Vincent pushed the door open and flicked the light switch as he closed the door behind him. He was so caught up in imagining Yuffie’s reaction as he set his gear down and hung his cloak near the door, that he didn’t notice someone standing directly behind him until he turned around._

_He flinched away, eyes widening in surprise as he realized that it was Yuffie, and she did not look pleased._

_“Yuffie?” he spoke her name tentatively, without meeting her eyes._

_“Vincent.” She crossed her arms, and he could feel her staring at him. This was not how it was supposed to go. Why was she back early?_

_“Is something wrong?” he glanced over his shoulder at his cloak, hanging out of reach, and regretted removing it. He felt exposed without it, and while he did want to open up more to Yuffie, he had a feeling that now was not the best time for that._

_“No. Why would something be wrong?”_

_Oh, this was definitely not good. “You look upset…”_

_“I just don’t understand why you’re wasting your time.”_

_“…” He kept his face turned away from her as much as possible, watching her out of the corner of his eye, and tried to find a reason for her to be upset with him. He could think of nothing, not a single thing. “Yuffie, what -”_

_“I don’t understand why you’re wasting your time on someone who never loved you. Someone who could never love you.” Her voice was harsh, steely, and he felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room._ She really feels that way? But I thought… _“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Vincent.”_

 _Vincent flinched when she said his full name. Yuffie_ never _used his full name unless something was very wrong._ So that’s it then, I misunderstood. She doesn’t feel that way about me. _“Yuffie…” he still couldn’t breathe properly, and he ducked his head, letting his hair fall in front of his face. There was nothing he could say to make this situation better, so he stayed silent._

 _Yuffie took a step toward him, and Vincent shrank back. “Why do you insist on spending so much time with the Queen of the Popsicles when you have people who care about you?!” Vincent jerked to attention, still not daring to breathe, though he stared at her with wide eyes._ What is she talking about? _“You’re so hung up on her, convinced that she loved you. Well, you know what? She never loved you. If you would just open your eyes, you would realize that. She_ never _loved you. How could she, with the things she did to you? If you love someone, you would never put them through so much pain!” Vincent opened his mouth, breathing in sharply. He understood now what Yuffie thought had happened, and he tried to interrupt her. “Don’t try to tell me that I don’t know what I’m talking about! Because I do!” Vincent wanted to reach out to her, wipe the tears off of her face, but he hesitated, unsure of how she would react. “I would never hurt you the way that she did. Ever. You know why? Because I love you, Vincent Valentine!”_

_Yuffie threw the front door open and ran off into the woods. Vincent stood silently, dazed by her last comment. He had suspected for some time now that she had a crush on him, but it hadn’t been until the past few months that he realized he felt anything romantic towards her. And in that time, he had never dreamed she would have come to care for him that much._

_After several minutes of staring off into space, Vincent blinked and looked around. As he walked through the house, he realized that Yuffie must have returned home a few days ago, and when confronted with his unexpected absence, she assumed that he had gone to Lucrecia’s cave. What she didn’t know was that he had said his final goodbye to Lucrecia months ago, when he acknowledged his feelings for Yuffie. He sighed, pushing his hair back from his face, and wondered what he should do now. Yuffie would no doubt appreciate some space, and she was more likely to return to the Manor if she knew she would not have to confront him right away. He took the jar of weapon polish and the box of saltwater taffy up to her room, setting them on the nightstand beside her bed as a peace offering for when she returned, then went back downstairs, grabbing his cloak as he left. He would give her the rest of the night, and return in the morning. Then they would talk, and he would show her how wrong she was in thinking that he still loved Lucrecia._

 

_Two weeks later, he would realize just how bad of a decision it had been._

 

_When he returned in the morning, she was gone. She had packed her bag and left. Vincent took a deep breath, and went about his day like nothing was wrong. It was difficult, he kept expecting her to come running into the room yelling some nonsense and dragging him off to do something ridiculous. The next day he did the same thing, and the day after that, and the day after that. When she had been gone for six days, Vincent’s phone rang, and he almost dropped it in his rush to answer. It was Cloud, mumbling something about asking Tifa out and complaining about Yuffie ruining the moment. Vincent let out a breath that he hadn’t known he’d been holding now that he knew his ninja was safe. He told Cloud that if Yuffie was bothering him, he should send her back to Nibelheim. Cloud muttered some more before he hung up, and Vincent sat back to wait._

_When Yuffie had been gone for a week and a half, he left Nibelheim again, this time making a beeline for Edge. It took him two and a half days of steady travel, and when he finally made it to Seventh Heaven, he found the bar deserted._

 

Vincent stood and slowly made his way to Yuffie’s bedside. He knelt down and stared at her, willing her to open her eyes. Nothing changed.

“Yuffie,” he whispered, ignoring how his voice sounded even rougher than usual, “you made me promise … never to leave you alone. I am sorry … I broke my promise, and now…” he trailed off, gritting his teeth and sighing in frustration at how he was still unable to tell her how he felt. “Please, Yuffie … please … come back to me…” He could feel tears in the corner of his eyes and shook his head sharply to get rid of them. “You were right … about everything.” He thought about what she had said to him before he moved back to the Shinra Manor. “I was not being fair to you.” He cleared his throat and stood, letting his eyes wander over the room. “Tifa has gone to look for Cloud, again. She wished me to tell you that she expects you to be awake by the time she returns.” 

He turned back and watched her for a little bit more, then leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead, before striding quickly out the door. He could feel himself crumbling, the emotional toll of the last two years finally crashing down on him, and he knew that he had to get away for a little while.

It took about fifteen minutes for him to walk to the apartment that he kept in Edge, and that was all the time he really needed to clear his head. He considered turning around, but he knew that if he returned to the hospital Reeve would make him leave again. With a heavy sigh he threw himself down in a chair and picked up the nearest book. He didn’t expect to be able to concentrate, so he was surprised when he glanced up at the clock and found that three hours had passed. Setting the book down, he stood and stretched, then looked around the room for something else to pass the time. Nothing caught his interest, so he decided to go back to the hospital and see if there had been any change with Yuffie.

One week after they had found Yuffie, Vincent was once again making his way back to the hospital from his apartment. Reeve had finally convinced him to spend more time away from the hospital, and Vincent had reluctantly agreed, but only under the condition that they would call him immediately if anything changed in her condition. None of the hospital staff spoke to him as he made his way to her room, so he wasn’t expecting her to be awake and talking to Reeve when he opened the door. He hesitated for a moment, his mind blank as he saw her storm gray eyes.

“Vincent,” Reeve nodded as he walked by, leaving the two alone.

Vincent shifted uneasily in the doorway, unsure of what to do. Yuffie was staring at him wide-eyed and he could see a glimmer of forming tears. Less than a minute had passed, and things were already going wrong.

“Yuffie,” he still didn’t move, afraid of what her reaction to him might be.

“H-hey,” she stuttered, her mouth opening and closing a few more times as she tried to think of something to say. He noticed how she shivered a little whenever their eyes met, and he tilted his head to the side to study her more closely. His smiled slightly when he realized that she was even more nervous than he was.

“Yuffie, are you all right? You seem to be hyperventilating…” he wondered if he should call a nurse to check on her, but decided that she would probably be better off if he left her for a little while. “Perhaps I should return when you are feeling better…” He took a step back and turned on his heel, the door swinging closed behind him.

The sun was setting as Vincent left the hospital, feeling more relaxed than he had in ages and knowing that he would finally be able to get a full night’s sleep. He would talk to Yuffie in the morning, and everything would be fine.

 

Vincent woke to the sound of his phone ringing. A glance at the clock as he reached for the phone made him even more worried. It was 11:52pm, and the hospital was calling.

“Mr. Valentine, Ms. Kisaragi is gone. We’ve searched the hospital and there’s no sign of her anywhere.” Vincent was dressed, fully armed, and halfway out the door before they finished speaking. He didn’t bother with a response, just closed his phone and stormed off down the street.

If someone had taken Yuffie away from him after he’d finally found her, they were going to find out just how creative he could be when it came to torture. And, gods help him, if Yuffie had left of her own free will then there was going to be hell to pay.

Once he reached the hospital, Vincent spoke briefly to the nurse who had discovered Yuffie’s disappearance. It seemed that Yuffie had gone missing close to the same time that the man, Zack Fair, had left the hospital. Yuffie’s clothes were also missing, which added to Vincent’s growing suspicion that Yuffie had chosen to leave. From the hospital, he made increasingly wide circles through the streets of Edge, looking for any sign of the ninja. When he was near the ruins of Midgar, a small scrap of fabric caught his eye. A closer inspection revealed it to be from the shirt that Yuffie had been wearing. He studied his surroundings, and decided that Yuffie’s destination was likely somewhere in Midgar. He could see a few tracks here and there that may have been hers alongside another person’s, leading into the ruined city.

Following the trail that he had found, Vincent was surprised to find himself at Aerith’s church. A brief inspection of the building did not give him any more information, but he did find more of a trail outside, this time leading out of the ruins. From what he could tell, there was now another set of tracks along with Yuffie’s and what he could only guess were Zack’s. He followed them out to the field west of Midgar, where they became more visible, and picked up his pace.

In less than an hour, he could see three figures walking ahead of him. He slowed to a brisk walk, and stayed far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to see him in the darkness. Yuffie was stumbling along behind the other two in silence, and it would have been easy for him to swoop in and carry her off before anyone was the wiser. He toyed with the idea for a few minutes, eventually dismissing it and deciding to see where they were going instead.

As the sky started to fade from inky black to a pinkish-gray, Vincent moved closer to Yuffie. She was still unaware of his presence, and began to jog slowly toward the other two, who had gotten farther ahead of her during the walk. Vincent grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him before she could go too far.

“Yuffie.” He glared down at her, fighting back the wave of anger when he saw that she had chosen to walk across the continent when she was still in pain from her head wound.

“Uh, h-hey … Vince,” she gave him a shaky smile that did nothing to calm him. “What’s up?”

“Yuffie.” Did she not realize how serious this was? Yuffie cringed and looked over her shoulder, no doubt trying to find a way to escape. His grip on her arm tightened marginally, and she turned her attention back to him.

“L-look, Vinny, I know you’re mad. I mean, you probably went to see me at the hospital, and they must’ve been all freaking out because I left without permission when they said I had to stay,” an understatement; the hospital staff had been frantic, knowing that they faced his wrath if she was not found, “but seriously, what was I supposed to do for another THREE days? I would have DIED of boredom! I can’t do NOTHING for that long!” In any other situation, Vincent might have been amused by Yuffie’s exaggerations, but this time they only frustrated him more. “I mean, come on, everyone knows that I get all fidgety when I have to sit still for more than five minutes, and I’m supposed to stay in a hospital for THREE DAYS? Whose bright idea was-”

“Yuffie.” She needed to realize just how serious this was.

“Yes?” She gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

His voice was barely contained, cold fury when he spoke, “I received a phone call just before midnight, informing me that you were missing. Again.” Yuffie’s smile disappeared, and Vincent took a deep breath to calm himself, looking away from the ninja. When he did so, he saw the pair that she was traveling with over her shoulder, and his eyes widened slightly. Aerith Gainsborough walked beside Zack Fair, alive and healthy. Vincent turned his attention back to Yuffie, choosing to address any questions he had about Aerith later. “I …” he blushed slightly at his slip, now was not the time to bring _that_ up, “we have spent the past two years looking for you. I had hoped that it would be some time before we had to search for you again.”

Vincent released Yuffie’s arm, and she closed her eyes and hung her head, looking ashamed. “I’m sorry, Vince,” when she looked up at him through her bangs, he felt his anger melt away, and he nodded, glancing over her shoulder again. Zack and Aerith were close enough to hear their conversation now.

“Yuffie? Everything okay?” Zack asked, glancing back and forth between her and Vincent.

Yuffie grinned and bounced on her toes a few times, trying to act normally when she answered, “Sure! Everything’s fine! We were just talking. Nothing to see here!” Vincent noticed how she grit her teeth slightly every time she moved her head and had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. She turned back to him and grinned. “We’re on our way to Nibelheim, to see if we can find Cloud. You should come! If we run into any monsters you can totally kick their butts.” He raised one eyebrow at this. _Apparently she is feeling worse that I realized, if she is asking for help._ “Not that I couldn’t handle it, but it would be easier if you were with us.” _Ah, that sounds more like her. Never admitting to a weakness._

He stared at her for a moment, letting enough of his emotions show for her to see that she hadn’t fooled him. “As you wish.”

“Great,” Zack gestured for them to follow him, “we still have a long walk, so let’s go.” He started walking without bothering to wait for the rest of them.

Vincent looked at Aerith and found the flower girl watching him. “It’s good to see you again, Vincent,” she said carefully.

“And you, as well, Miss Gainsborough.” _Perhaps this is one instance where answers aren’t that important_ , he thought as he decided not to question her presence. Her answering smile told him that he had made the right decision. As Aerith ran to catch up with Zack, Vincent turned to Yuffie and watched her stare after their friends. 

After a few moments, she sighed and said, “Come on. They’ve already left me behind once today.” Vincent’s smile was hidden behind his cloak as remembered how distracted she had seemed while he was following them.

They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Yuffie stumbled, righted herself, and continued walking as she massaged her temples with her eyes scrunched closed. Vincent sighed as he pulled out his Restore materia and held it in front of her face. When Yuffie opened her eyes, she looked back and forth between him and the materia several times before snatching it out of his hand.

“Why the heck didn’t you use that before???” she demanded. Vincent watched as all of her tension disappeared when she cast cure on herself.

“We weren’t sure how it would affect you, and healing naturally would have been better,” he gave her an annoyed look meant to make her feel guilty, which she completely ignored.

“I don’t know why you’re so worried about me, Vince,” she called over her shoulder as she skipped after Zack and Aerith. “Wasn’t I always the one worrying over you?”

Vincent watched her run past the others and do a cartwheel, reveling in her loss of pain. _I worried about you more than you knew…_

 

**_‘Cause I’m bleeding out_ **

**_So if the last thing that I do_ **

**_Is to bring you down_ **

**_I’ll bleed out for you_ **


	5. Chapter 5

**_So I bare my skin_ **

**_And I count my sins_ **

**_And I close my eyes_ **

**_And I take it in_ **

**_And I’m bleeding out_ **

**_I’m bleeding out for you (for you)_ **

 

During the trek to Nibelheim, Vincent couldn’t keep himself from glancing at Yuffie every few minutes. She had gone back to wandering quietly along behind Zack and Aerith the way that she had been earlier when he followed them, and he could see that her mind was somewhere else entirely. Her expression was blank, so he had no idea what she was thinking and that bothered him. _Does she remember our fight?_ he glanced over at her again. _Why doesn’t she say anything about it? It is not like her to be this quiet for so long._ Vincent sighed and looked away, trying to ignore how uneasy he was feeling.

When they were almost to Nibelheim, Yuffie caught Vincent looking at her and crossed her eyes at him. “Do I have something on my face?” Vincent smiled behind his cloak and shook his head. “Well, what is it then?” He shook his head again, relieved that she was finally acting like her old self. He saw her smile when she noticed that Zack and Aerith were holding hands, but there was a sadness in her eyes that he didn’t like.

“You have been … quiet, Yuffie,” he said softly. “It is … unlike you.” When she turned to look at him with one eyebrow raised, he reached out to pull her to him but stopped himself at the last moment and let his hand fall back to his side. He still wasn’t sure where they stood with each other, and he didn’t want to make Yuffie uncomfortable.

“I told you, Vince, you don’t have to worry about me so much. I’m fine. Really,” she gave him her brightest smile, “I’m just glad to be home.”

He tilted his head slightly, studying her expression. While her smile was sincere, he still saw that hint of sadness in her eyes that made him want to comfort her. “I am glad, as well,” he said, keeping eye contact with her and hoping that she would see how much he meant what he said.

“Yeah, well,” she turned away, her smile fading. “Oh look! There’s the gate to Nibelheim!” She ran past Zack and Aerith, and didn’t stop until she was in front of the water tower in the center of town. When they caught up to her, she threw her arms out and spun in a circle, gesturing to the surrounding buildings. “So guys, where exactly do you think Cloud is? I mean, I’d hate to spend time searching _all_ these buildings,” she laughed as she put her hands on her hips, her grin as broad as ever, but this time Vincent could see the effort she put into looking cheerful. He considered asking her what was wrong, but he knew that she wouldn’t answer him so he decided to leave her alone for the time being.

“That one over there,” Zack pointed at one of the houses and started walking. Vincent followed the others over to the house that Zack had indicated. No one came to the door when Zack knocked, and he turned back to them with a shrug. “This is where Cloud’s mom lived when I was here before. What do you think we should do?” he asked, looking at Aerith.

The flower girl clasped her hands under her chin and closed her eyes in thought. “It wouldn’t hurt to look inside,” she looked at the house, and Vincent could see the concern in her eyes. It seemed that Aerith knew something that she didn’t want them to know about. He caught her eye and raised one eyebrow in question, but she just shook her head slightly and turned her attention back to Zack as he tried to open the door.

“It’s locked.” Zack glared at the door for a moment, then his expression brightened considerably. It reminded Vincent of the expression that Yuffie would get when she had a bad idea, not that she ever thought of her ideas as bad. “I could kick it down,” Zack suggested with a grin. _Oh yes, definitely an idea worthy of Yuffie._

“Zack! You can’t just break someone’s door down,” Aerith scolded. “There has to be an easier way to get inside.” Vincent saw Yuffie perk up out of the corner of his eye and sighed. _And now_ she _has that look…_

“Don’t worry, the Great Ninja Yuffie will take care of this!” Yuffie shoved Zack out of her way and inspected the lock. “Oh, this’ll be easy! Just give me a minute to get some stuff.” She spun on her heel and took off at a run before Vincent realized where she was going. 

_If I go after her it will make her even more suspicious of what she finds_ , he thought reluctantly. _It will probably best if I wait to see what she does on her own._ He had been staring after Yuffie, lost in his thoughts, for a little while when Aerith tapped him on the shoulder. Vincent jumped slightly and looked down at Aerith with a frown.

“Sorry,” she hid a smile behind her hand and gestured for him to sit on the front step of the house with her and Zack. “There are some things we should probably tell you about Yuffie.” She gave him a reassuring smile when he froze, staring with wide eyes. “It’s nothing that bad, I promise. It should help you to understand why she might not be acting quite like herself.”

Vincent blinked a few times, trying to clear away the momentary panic that had seized him, and sat down stiffly beside the flower girl.

“Hey, man, relax,” Zack laughed from his lounging position on the other side of Aerith. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but Aerith gave him a _look_ and he closed his mouth with a snap.

“You know that Tifa had some amnesia, right?” Vincent nodded and Aerith continued, “Well, all of us had forgotten about our lives here until we returned. My memories came back right after we crashed in Wutai. Tifa’s memories should be almost completely restored. I wouldn’t be surprised she remembered everything by the time she finds Cloud. Zack memories returned shortly after he was found. Yuffie, on the other hand,” Aerith paused, playing with the ribbon in her hair as she tried to think of what to say.

“Yuffie’s still a few cards short of a full deck in the memory department,” Zack chimed in with a smile.

“ZACK!” Aerith spun around and smacked him on the arm.

“Ow! Oh, come on, I was joking!” Zack leaned away from her, like he was afraid she would hit him again. “Seriously though, she doesn’t remember everything yet,” he held up a hand to stop Aerith from yelling at him again, and looked past her at Vincent, “but her memories are coming back. It’s just taking longer for her than for the rest of us. I don’t know why, and neither do you,” he gave Aerith a pointed look, “so there’s not much we can do about it but be patient.”

Vincent watched the two glare at each other and couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you for telling me this.” He stood slowly and looked towards the Shinra Manor, where Yuffie was no doubt picking her way through the dust covered hallways and wondering why the house was in such a state. “If you would excuse me, I need to make a phone call.”

“Of course,” Aerith said, her gentle voice completely at odds with the look she was giving Zack. As Vincent walked away he heard her start to scold Zack again. “You didn’t have to be so insensitive about it, Zack. Why didn’t you just let me do the talking?”

“I wasn’t being insensitive! And you were taking too long. What was I supposed to do?”

Vincent shook his head with another smile as their voices faded behind him. When he was just outside of the gate to Nibelheim, he pulled out his phone and called Reeve.

“Vincent! Have you found Yuffie?” Vincent flinched when he realized that he had forgotten to call Reeve earlier when he had caught up with the others.

“Yes, she was with Zack and Aerith outside of Midgar. We are in Nibelheim now and we may have found Cloud.”

“I’m sorry Vincent, I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you say that she was with Aerith?” Vincent could hear the shock in Reeve’s voice, similar to what he himself had felt earlier in the day.

“That’s right, Aerith is here. You should probably tell Tifa to come to Nibelheim. If Cloud is here, he will want to see her right away.”

“I’ll send her a message right away, she should be there in a few hours. Vincent, are you sure that it’s Aerith? Because-”

“Reeve.”

“-it’s just not possible, we all saw her die-”

“Reeve.”

“-Sephiroth, he-”

“Reeve.”

“Yes?”

“If I knew what was going on I would tell you.”

“Yes, but-”

“Have you found anything else around the Forgotten City? Anything to explain the crater and the feathers?”

“No. But Vincent-”

“Goodbye, Reeve.”

“Vincent-”

Vincent flipped his phone shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply in frustration. There were too many questions without answers right now, and it didn’t seem like they would be getting answers any time soon. He had a feeling that Aerith knew more about the entire situation than she was telling anyone, but he would never force her to tell more than she was willing. She had always been wise beyond her years, no doubt because of her Cetra lineage, and if she chose not to tell them everything then she had a reason. Vincent was inclined to trust her, even if her presence was questionable at the moment. Then again, if Sephiroth could return from the dead whenever he felt like it, why couldn’t their friends do the same? Vincent sighed and leaned against the wall. Trying to reason his way through recent events left him with a headache, so he turned his thoughts to a more comforting subject. 

_Yuffie should have returned from the Manor by now_ , he thought. _Perhaps she will allow me to help her fill in the gaps in her memories. She must be frustrated by them_.

His thoughts were interrupted by a scream from the town. He was on his feet and  running towards Cloud’s house when Zack and Yuffie were ushered out of the building by Aerith. They didn’t see him come up behind them as they stood huddled together a few steps away from the house.

“This is what I was afraid of,” Aerith said, “Tifa might be able to help, but I don’t know what else we can do.”

“Tifa is on her way,” he said as he came closer. “I spoke with Reeve. He said that she will be here in a few hours.”

“Thank you, Vincent.” Aerith sighed, “I hate the idea of leaving him by himself, but I don’t think we should go in there again.” She frowned and looked back at the house.

“What is it?” Zack asked.

“What he said about Sephiroth…” Aerith continued frowning in thought. Vincent tensed, images of the crater near the Forgotten City flashing through his mind.

“You don’t think…” Zack trailed off, looking at Aerith with wide eyes.

She turned to face him. “There’s no reason to think that he’s not alive. Cloud won’t be able to tell us anything for a while. If Sephiroth is alive, we could be wasting time.” Aerith looked at Yuffie and Vincent. “You two should stay here until Tifa comes, and make sure that nothing happens to Cloud.” She glanced back and forth between them, and Vincent could tell that she was trying to encourage him to talk to Yuffie once they were gone. “Zack, we can start looking for any signs that Sephiroth is alive.”

Zack nodded, all traces of the smiles and jokes from earlier gone. “Where should we start? If he was like us when he got back, he would want to go somewhere familiar.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe the old Shinra Building? He spent a lot of time there in SOLDIER. I don’t know that much about his past before that,” he shrugged.

“It’s a start,” Aerith agreed.

“Then we better get moving. See ya around, Treasure Princess,” Zack saluted Yuffie, then gave a brief wave to Vincent before he strode off down the path.

Vincent saw a flash of amusement on both Aerith and Yuffie’s faces as they watched Zack saunter off.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye, for now,” Aerith smiled at them and then ran to catch up with Zack.

“We’ll let you know if we find anything!” Zack shouted over his shoulder.

Vincent watched as the two disappeared around a bend in the path and then turned to Yuffie. He knew that he needed to talk to her, but he could feel his determination slipping away the longer he waited.

When she finally turned to face him that hint of sadness from earlier was back in her eyes. “I can’t believe they’re gone again,” she sighed. “I mean, I know we’ll see them again, but it’s been so long, it’s hard to believe that they’re back, ya know?” Vincent tilted his head to the side, watching her. He knew that she had missed Aerith a great deal after the flower girl’s death, but he hadn’t realized that she had known Zack before her disappearance. “I never realized how much I depended on them when they were alive the first time.” _So Zack is another friend who has returned from the grave_ , Vincent glanced at the path down the mountain again. _Best not to think about it right now._ “Wow, that’s weird to say. It sounds weird, don’t you think?” Vincent was about to reply when he noticed the shift in Yuffie’s expression. She had _that look_ again. _Maybe I’m just imagining it…_ “Would they be considered zombies, since they’re technically undead? Is this the start of the zombie apocalypse? Because that would be awesome! We would totally be survival buddies, Vince! But it would suck if we had to kill-”

“Yuffie.” He could feel his eye starting to twitch.

“Huh?”

“Please stop talking.”

“But Vinny! This is serious! This could be a life and death situation! We need to start making plans now before it’s too late!” He could feel the chance of having a serious conversation with her slipping away. _Maybe I can-_ “That’s what Sephiroth’s plan is this time! He’s going to start the zombie apocalypse and take over the planet with the undead! We have to warn everyone!” _I really should know by now, there’s no stopping her when she’s like this._ “Where’s your phone??”

Vincent looked up at the sky. _Of all of the people in the world, why did I have to fall in love with her? Only Yuffie could interrupt plans to have an important discussion with a tirade about the zombie apocalypse._ “Yuffie, I am not giving you my phone. If you need me, I will be at the Manor.” He turned on his heel and walked away.

“Fine! We’ll see how long you last when the undead come knocking down your door! You’ll be begging me to come rescue you!”

_I refuse to discuss this with her. I will not be drawn into an argument about zombies. No. Just, no. I will not turn around and go back. That is exactly what she wants._ Vincent stopped and turned around. He was out of Yuffie’s line of sight, and now that she had stopped yelling at him he was finding it difficult to resist the urge to go back to her. He took a step back toward the town and stopped himself. _No. No, no, no, no. It does not matter how much I have missed her, I did not miss these illogical arguments._ With some difficulty, he forced himself to turn back to the Manor and continue walking. As he reached the front door, he looked over his shoulder and saw Yuffie stomping in circles around the water tower, apparently fuming over his refusal to entertain her ideas. _Although, I suppose it would not be too terrible if we were “survival buddies,”_ he smiled slightly.

 

**_When the hour is nigh_ **

**_And hopelessness is sinking in_ **

**_And the wolves all cry_ **

**_To fill the night with hollering_ **

****


End file.
